Washing machine and process of washing therewith



April 30, 1963 R. J. ANDERSON 3,087,776

WASHING MACHINE AND PROCESS OF WASHING THEREWITH Filed April 26, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 1 BY WW April 1963 R. J ANDERSON 3,087,776

WASHING MACHINE AND PROCESS OF WASHING THEREWITH Filed April 26, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 R 3 w on q umum IN VEN TOR.

7' OE/VEYS United States Patent 3,087,776 WASHING MACHINE AND PROCESS OFWASHING THEREWITH Robert J. Anderson, 635. N. West Ave., Sidney, Oh oFiled Apr. 26, 1955, Ser. No. 503,963 3 Claims (Cl. 8 -159 Thisinvention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly to thetype of machine wherein vibrations are set up. in the washing fluid in aclothes container wherein the fluid may: be mechanically agitated,although not necessarily limited to mechanical. agitation.

For the purposes of illustration, the vibrating mechanism has been shownin association with a washing machine of the type disclosed in mycopending application Serial No. 244,934, filed September 4, 19,51, forWashing Machine, now Patent No- .7 issued March 1956.

A objec f this, nvent n is to provide a method of and apparatus forvibrating the washing fluid so as to cause rapid vibrations in thewashing fluid which may be in addition to the c onventional fluidagitating device. For the purpose of illustration, the magneticvibrating de vice, or any other suitable device, is mounted inassociation with the ramp of an agitator which, in this particularinstance, also forms the tub or container for the fluid, so as to causethe fluid to be vibrated, setting up pulsations in the fluid, actingupon the fibers of the material to be washed, to thereby aid indislodging the dirt and foreign matter from the material being washed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tub and ramp shaker sodesigned that the clothes and water will be thoroughly shaken orvibrated without the aid of extraneous pumps or water circulating means.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become moreapparent from the following description.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 1-1 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal cross section taken substantially on the line2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical view partly in cross section with portions of thetub broken away.

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially onthe line 55 of FIGURE 4.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, a substantially cylindricaltub decreases gradually in diameter as it approaches the bottom. A lip12 forms a partial closure. The tub is provided with a plurality ofinwardly tapered ribs.

The bottom of the tub 10 is provided with a ramp 14 integral with thebody of the tub and base and projecting upwardly and outwardly. Theramp-and tub are a modification of those shown in my copendingapplication Serial No. 244,934, filed September 4, 1951, tor WashingMachine.

As best seen by referring to FIGURES 3 and 4, the ramp 14 consists of agradually inclined pair of slopes 16 and an oppositely disposed slope18. The portions 16 and 18 may be practically vertically disposed. Thecenter portion 20 is frustum-conical so as to provide a cavity for thesupport of the tub. In FIGURE 3, the top plan view of the tub shows aplurality of contour lines 1 to 13 inclusive, that are taken on theelevations 1-13 shown in FIGURE 4. This ramp has been so designed thatwhen the tub rotates in a clockwise direction as shown in FIGURE 4, thesteep. portion 18 of the ramp causes a violent agitation of the clothesas they fall downwardly.

Means for further agitation of the clothing will later be described.

As best seen by referring to FIGURE 1, the tub is supported upon a shaft30. having fixedly and non-rotatably mounted thereon a coupling 32fixedly secured by welding bolts or other means not shown to a conicalsupporting member 34 projecting upwardly into the frustO-conical portionof the ramp. Member 34 is fixedly secured to the underside of the tub bythe outwardly projecting horizontally disposed diaphragm portions 36 bywelding or in any suitable manner. The shaft 30 abuts a curved plate. 38secured to. the underside of the apex of the frustoconical portion sothat the weight of the tub is transmitted directly 'to. the shaft 30.Bearing 40 is an end face- Water seal, and the rubber f-rusto-conicalmember 42 is in compression only as a means to hold the end face seal inposition to prevent leakage around the shaft. The tub is supported onthe end of the shaft by reinforcing member or curved plate 38. Thefrusto-conical water shield 42 is mounted upon an upwardly directedflange, not shown. i

The tub is provided with a plurality of inwardly directed tapered ribs.44- positioned in spaced relation from the extremities of each. ramp 14.These ribs 44 aid in agitating the water and the clothes as the tub isoscillated, that is, rota-ted to and fro.

It has been found that movement of the washing fluid with respect to thematerial to be washed aids in the washing process. Movement, as is wellknown to the art, is imparted to the washing fluid and to the materialto be washed by means of an agitator that may be integral with the tub,like the one disclosed in the present application, or by means of aseparate agitator having oscillatory movement or relative movement withrespect to the tub.

Another type of movement may be imparted to the fluid, namely, avibratory movement, where the vibrations may be comparatively small inmagnitude, but frequent. These vibrations may be imparted to the fluideither by mounting the vibratory member in the fluid or by vibrat ingthe vessel containing the fluid, or by vibrating the agitator. In thedisclosure herein, this has been accomplished by mounting transducers5-0 on the under side of the steep or vertical wall portion 18 of theagitator, thereby imparting a horizontal vibratory movement to the steepportion of the ramp, so as to cause the fluid to vibrate. Thistransducer 50 includes a disc 52 connected to the steep portion 18 by abellows-like diaphragm 54. An electrical transducer has been shown thatmay be energized from an external source through a pair of slip rings 46provided with brushes 48, the slip rings being connected by suitableleads, not shown, to the transducer 50. Such transducers produce aripple on top of the Washing fluid. This ripple is the result of thevibrations of the fluid which are utilized to remove dirt from thematerial to be washed, such as clothing.

By mounting the transducers on the vertical face of the steep portion 18at each end of the ramp shaker, the transducers take advantage of themost efiective area of cavitation. In the area of cavitation, namely, inthe area adjacent the steep portion 18, vortices are formed. When thematerial to be washed drops over the sloping portion of the ramp, thismaterial is drawn into the immediate vicinity of the transducers orvibrators so as to impart vibrations to the material being washed whilein the immediate vicinity of the transducers or vibrators. Here thepressure on the water reaches its maximum point as the ramp agitatorstarts its reverse movement. By applying energy vibration in this area,it can readily be seen that if 60 cycle alternating current is used inenergizing the transducers, there will be 7200 energy waves per min utedirected to the washing fluid attacking the deeply embedded soil of theclothes. In addition to this new energy, the standard washing agitationis also maintained, the clothes moving constantly in and out coming intothe area of greatest cavitation and vibratory energy bombardment. Byusing these energy vibrations, the number of oscillations of the rampmay be reduced without sacrificing upon the performance of theapparatus.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, itwill be understood that within the purview of this invention variouschanges may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement ofparts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generallystated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects setforth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a washing machine, a tub mounted for to and fro rotary movements,agitating means integral with the body of said tub, said agitating meanscomprising a ramp having an inclined surface and a substantiallyvertical surface, and means nested outside of and in contact with thevertical surface of said ramp for imparting a vibrating movement throughsaid ramp to the fluid contents of the tub.

2. A washing machine comprising a tub mounted for to and fro movement,agitating means associated with the body of said tub, said agitatingmeans comprising a ramp having an inclined surface and a substantiallyvertical surface, and vibrating means for imparting vibrating A movementto the outside of the vertical surface of the ramp to impart vibrationsto the contents of said tub.

3. In a Washing process, the method of agitating the fluid content andthe wash in a washing machine which comprises: imparting oscillatorymovement to the fluid content by agitating means rotating to and fro ina horizontal direction, said agitating means having an upwardly inclinedportion which in rotating to and fro moves the wash to an elevatedposition and then precipitatedly moves the wash downwardly into an areaof greatest cavitation, said area of greatest cavitation having beenproduced by the oscillatory movement of the fluid; and imparting acycles per second vibratory movement to the fluid content in the area ofgreatest cavitation, whereby the wash is cyclically moved into the areasof cavitation and subjected to vibrations in said areas.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.23,483 Graham Apr, 29, 1952 1,665,959 Graham et a1. Apr. 10, 19282,241,646 Rathjens May 13, 1941 2,468,550 Fruth Apr. 26, 1949 2,499,025Horvath Feb. 28, 1950 2,540,884 Horvath Feb. 6, 1951 2,629,244 Rand Feb.24, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 628,415 Great Britain Aug. 29, 1949 648,609Great Britain Jan. 10, 1951

1. IN A WASHING MACHINE, A TUB MOUNTED FOR TO AND FRO ROTARY MOVEMENTS,AGITATING MEANS INTEGRAL WITH THE BODY OF SAID TUB, SAID AGITATING MEANSCOMPRISING A RAMP HAVING AN INCLINED SURFACE AND A SUBSTANTIALLYVERTICAL SURFACE, AND MEANS NESTED OUTSIDE OF SAID IN CONTACT WITH THEVERTICALLY SURFACE OF SAID RAMP OF IMPARTING A VIBRATING MOVEMENTTHROUGH SAID RAMP TO THE FLUID CONTENTS OF THE TUB.
 3. IN A WASHINGPROCESS, THE METHOD OF AGITATING THE FLUID CONTENT AND THE WASH IN AWASHING MACHINE WHICH COMPRISES: IMPARTING OSCILLATORY MOVEMENT TO THEFLUID CONTENT BY AGITATING MEANS ROTATING TO AND FRO IN A HORIZONTALDIRECTION, SAID AGITATING MEANS HAVING AN UPWARDLY INCLINED PORTIONWHICH IN ROTATING TO AND FRO MOVES THE WASH TO AN ELEVATED POSITION ANDTHEN PRECIPITATEDLY MOVES THE WASH DOWNWARDLY INTO AN AREA OF GREATESTCAVITATION, SAID AREA OF GREATEST CAVITATION HAVING BEEN PRODUCED BY THEOSCILLATORY MOVEMENT OF THE FLUID; AND IMPARTING A 60 CYCLES PER SECONDVIBRATORY MOWMENT TO THE FLUID CONTENT IN THE AREA OF GREATESTCAVITATION, WHEREBY THE WASH IS CYLICALLY MOVED INTO THE AREAS OFCAVITATION AND SUBJECTED TO VIBRATIONS IN SAID AREAS.